JP2001208752A - Urine collector attached to rim of toilet bowl - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a urine collector which is attached to the rim of a toilet bowl and does not obstruct the daily use of the toilet bowl. SOLUTION: This urine collector (10) is constituted in such a way that the collector (10) can be attached detachably to the rim (16) of a toilet bowl and has a supporting body (18) placed on the rib (16), a rocking arm (30) journaled by the body (18), a urine collecting container (28) carried by the arm (30), and a motor (60) which drives the arm (30) to be ratated. The supporting body (18) is provided with a supporting section (20) which is extended to cross over the side section of the rim 16 and a urine collecting container housing section (22) which is positioned closely to the inside of the front section of the rim (16) and the rotating shaft (32) of the arm (30) is extended in the supporting section (20). Since the container (28) is housed in the housing section on the inside of the front section of the rim (16) when this urine collector is not used, the container (28) does not obstruct the daily use of the toilet bowl.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a urine collecting apparatus for sampling urine excreted by an individual in a house, office or other toilets for urine analysis. More specifically, the present invention relates to a rim-mounted urine collection device that can be mounted on a rim of a toilet bowl.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the longevity and aging of people, interest in health care is increasing. Urine is an important source of information about an individual's health.Quantitative analysis of urinary sugar, urinary protein, urobilinogen, occult blood, and other urine components allows for pancreatic disorders such as diabetes, liver disorders, kidney disorders, and other functions. Disorders can be tested in a non-invasive manner.
Therefore, there has been proposed a toilet having a urine analysis function capable of performing sampling and analysis of urine using a toilet at home or at a workplace or the like to support an individual's health check.

For example, JP-A-59-217844, JP-A-63-18
No. 4057, JP-A-63-290961, JP-A-1-178866 and JP-A-4-191660, a urine collecting section is formed on the bowl surface of a Western-style toilet bowl, and urine excreted on the bowl surface is supplied to the urine collecting section. It has been proposed to collect and sample. The collected urine sample is analyzed by a liquid chromatography method, a test strip method, or a polarographic method (voltammetry method).

[0004] A drawback of these devices is that they require a special urinal which is capable of urine sampling and has a urine collecting section formed on the bowl surface. Such special toilets must be specially manufactured separately from the standard toilets, and therefore it is difficult to reduce the cost by mass production, so that they are too expensive to spread to ordinary households, workplaces and offices. Also, when modifying an existing toilet equipped with a normal bowl-shaped standard toilet, the existing toilet must be removed first, and then a special toilet dedicated to urine analysis must be installed. It requires enormous cost and trouble, and causes disposal of existing equipment. Further, after washing the toilet, the washing water remains in the urine collecting section on the bowl surface and dilutes new urine to be sampled, so that there is a possibility that a good sample cannot be sampled.
Further, since the urine collecting portion is formed on the bowl surface, the urine sample is contaminated with old urine and other excrement.

In Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 5-30764, it is proposed to attach a urine collecting device to a toilet seat. For this purpose, an arm for supporting a cup-shaped urine collection container is pivotally attached to the toilet seat. In this sampling method, since urine is sampled in the air in the bowl space of the toilet, there is an advantage that a urine can be analyzed using a normal standard toilet without the need for a special toilet. However, there is an inconvenience that the toilet seat must be processed in order to attach the urine collecting device to the toilet seat.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 60-233551 discloses a urine analyzer of a toilet type. Since this device is mounted on the rim of the toilet bowl, there is an advantage that the seat does not need to be processed for installation.

[0007]

However, since the urine collecting portion protrudes into the toilet bowl, it is not convenient to use the toilet when it is used for ordinary stool. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a rim-mounted urine collection device that is easy to use for toilets in everyday use.

[0008]

According to the present invention, there is provided a rim-mounted urine collecting apparatus, comprising: a supporter detachably mountable on a rim of a toilet bowl;
The swing arm includes a swing arm that is swingably supported by the support, a urine collection container carried on the free end of the swing arm, and a driving unit such as a motor that swings the swing arm. The support body includes a support portion extending in a transverse direction above a side portion of the rim and mounted on the upper surface of the rim, and a urine collection container storage portion adjacent to the inside of the front portion of the rim of the toilet bowl, and a swing arm. The axis of rotation of this is extended into this support. When not in use, the urine collection container is stored in the storage unit. At the time of urine collection, when the swing arm is swung by the motor, the urine collection container moves to the urine collection position in the bowl space. The urine collection container storage part is located close to the inside of the front part of the rim, and the urine collection container is stored in this storage part when not in use, so that the urine collection container does not disturb the daily use of the toilet .

In a preferred embodiment, the motor is arranged outside the outer contour of the side of the rim and, in plan view, outside the outer contour of the toilet seat. With such a configuration, only the support portion that supports the rotating shaft of the swing arm needs to be extended in the slight vertical gap between the upper surface of the rim and the lower surface of the toilet seat. Interference with the body can be avoided, and damage to the device can be prevented.

[0010] Preferably, a washing means such as a washing nozzle is provided in the accommodating portion of the support so that the urine collection container returned to the accommodating portion after use can be washed. A display is provided on the upper surface of the support outside the toilet seat to display the urine analysis result. This display can be easily viewed by the user. The above features and effects of the present invention, as well as other features and advantages, will be clarified according to the description of the following embodiments.

[0011]

FIG. 1 shows a rim-mounted urine collecting apparatus 10 according to the present invention mounted on a toilet bowl. In the illustrated embodiment, the urine collection device 10 incorporates a housing 12 containing a transport unit and a urine analysis unit, and constitutes a self-contained urine analysis unit. The unit or urine analyzer may be located at another location, such as a toilet floor or wall.

The urine collecting apparatus 10 has a support 18 configured to be detachably hooked on the rim 16 of the toilet 14. The support 18 connects the support 20 traversing above the side of the rim 16, the urine container 22 adjacent to the inside of the front of the rim 16, and connects the support 20 and the urine container 22. An intermediate portion 24 is provided which is curved along the inner contour of the rim to facilitate. A vertical member 26 acting as a hook is formed on the support 18. The urine collection device 10 can be hooked on the rim 16 of the toilet bowl by engaging the vertical member 26 with the housing 12 on both sides of the rim 16. ing.

A swing arm 30 carrying a urine collection container 28 is swingably supported on the support 18. Swing arm 3
0 extends inside the support portion 20 of the support 18 and
And an arm part 34 curved along the middle part 24 of the support 18. Arm part 34
A urine collection container 28 is detachably attached to the free end of the container.

Referring to FIG. 3 and FIG.
8 can be composed of a main body 40 having an elongated upper opening 36 and a gutter-shaped recess 38 and a large-diameter base 42, and an end elbow 4 of the arm portion 34 is formed using an O-ring 44.
6 can be attached in a liquid-tight and detachable manner. The recess 38 in the body is inclined toward the base 42 so that the recess 38
Urine poured into the inside is accumulated in a urine pool 48 formed by the base 42 and the elbow 46. By covering the outer periphery of the main body 40 with a wire mesh 50 or the like, it is possible to prevent urine excreted from the subject from colliding with the urine collection container 28 and scattered around, and to be able to effectively collect a urine sample. preferable.

The urine accumulated in the urine pool 48 is supplied to an elbow 46
The urine in the housing 12 is suctioned and pumped by a syringe pump (to be described later) through an internal passageway of the arm 30, the arm portion 34 of the swing arm 30 and a flexible urine sample transport tube 52 extending in the rotation shaft 32. It is sent to the analysis unit. The elbow 46 is provided with an L-shaped tube 54 that opens toward the bottom of the urine reservoir 48 in order to aspirate and send only urine containing no air bubbles to the urine analyzer. In order to detect that a sufficient amount of urine has accumulated in the urine pool 48, a pair of electrodes 56 that are vertically separated from each other are provided on the elbow 46. These electrodes can be connected via leads 58 to a control circuit located within housing 12.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the rotation shaft 32 of the swing arm 30 is provided in the housing 12 via a gear mechanism or the like.
The urine collection container 28 is moved within the bowl space of the toilet bowl by rotating the motor 60 to swing the swing arm 30.

A horizontal projection 62 is formed on the support 18 so as to be in contact with the upper surface of the rim 16 of the toilet bowl. When the urine collection device 10 is hooked on the rim of the toilet bowl, the storage section 22 is positioned and supported by the rim. It has become so. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, a storage washing chamber 64 opened downward is formed in the storage part 22 so as to store the urine collection container 28 when not in use. As shown in FIG.
8 is provided with a cleaning nozzle 66 directed toward the storage and cleaning chamber 64, and the urine collection container 2 returned and stored in the storage and cleaning chamber 64.
8 is to be washed. The washing water to the washing nozzle 66 is supplied from a washing water conduit 68 connected to a water pipe, and the supply of the washing water is controlled by a solenoid valve (not shown) arranged in the housing 12.

Referring to FIG. 1, the housing 12 can be formed of two upper and lower halves that are snap fitted together. In the housing 12, a syringe pump 70,
A carrier liquid tank 72, a calibration liquid tank (not shown), a urine analyzer 74, and a control operation circuit (not shown) are stored. As mentioned above, these devices may be installed on the floor or wall of the toilet. Since these devices do not constitute a part of the present invention, the urine analyzer 74 is, for example, provided with a polarographic flow cell equipped with a glucose oxidase-immobilized membrane, and quantifies urine sugar in a urine sample. It can be configured to analyze. Syringe pump 7
Numeral 0 indicates that the urine sample collected by the urine collection container 28 is aspirated and transported to the urine analyzer 74 together with the carrier liquid. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the syringe pump 70 includes a cylinder 78 in which a pump chamber 76 having a variable volume is formed, and a piston 80 is slidably fitted to this cylinder. The piston 80 is a stepping motor 8
The reciprocating drive is performed by converting the rotation of No. 2 into reciprocating motion by the lead screw mechanism 84. The pump chamber 76 communicates with a central port 86, which is connected to one of a plurality of nipples 92 by rotating a rotary valve 90 by a stepping motor 88. The urine sample transport tube 52 is connected to one nipple 92, and the other nipple is connected to a carrier liquid tank 72, a calibration liquid tank, and a urine analyzer 74, respectively.

In order to explain the mode of use and operation of the urine collecting apparatus 10, the urine collecting apparatus 10 is installed on a toilet bowl by using a toilet seat 9
All that is required is to place the urine collection device 10 on the rim 16 with the 4 raised. At the time of urine collection, when the subject is seated on the toilet seat 94 and presses the urine analysis start switch 96 provided on the upper part of the housing 12, the motor 60 operates to rotate the swing arm 30, and as shown by a chain line in FIG. Then, the urine collection container 28 is moved from the rest position in the storage and cleaning chamber 64 to the urine collection position in the bowl space. The subject places the urine collection container 28 in an appropriate position.
Is released, the switch 96 is released and the urine collection container 28 is released.
You can urinate towards. Urine that has hit the urine collection container 28 flows down along the gutter-shaped recess 38, and the urine pool 4
Collect at 8. When it is detected from the signal from the electrode 56 that urine has accumulated to a desired level in the urine reservoir, the syringe pump 70 is operated, and the urine sample is supplied to the L-shaped tube 54.
Then, the liquid is sucked into the pump chamber 76 of the syringe pump 70 via the transfer tube 52. After measuring the urine sample, the syringe pump 70 conveys the urine sample to the urine analyzer 74 together with the carrier liquid. The urine analysis result is displayed on a liquid crystal display panel 98 provided on the upper part of the housing 12. Urine collection and urine analyzer 74
When the transfer of the urine collection container 28 is completed, the urine collection container 28 is returned to the rest position in the storage washing chamber 64 by the rotation of the swing arm 30.
The urine collection container 2 is opened by opening the solenoid valve and injecting washing water from the washing nozzle 66 into the storage washing chamber 64.
8 is washed. Used washing water falls into the bowl.

Although specific embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various design changes can be made. For example, the shapes of the support 18, the swing arm 30, and the urine collection container 28 can be appropriately changed. Only the motor 60 is disposed in the housing 12, and the syringe pump 70, the carrier liquid tank 72, and the urine analyzer 74 can be installed on a floor or a wall. Urine analyzer 7
4 may be configured to analyze urine components other than urine sugar. Further, the washing water to the washing nozzle 66 can be supplied from a washing tank of the toilet using a pump. Further, the positioning of the urine collection container at the time of urine collection may be performed by moving the urine collection container to a predetermined position and then finely adjusting by the user.

[0021]

According to the present invention, since the urine collection container is stored in the storage portion close to the inside of the front portion of the rim when not in use, it does not hinder daily use of the toilet.
Therefore, usability of the toilet is improved. In the embodiment in which the motor is disposed outside the outer contour of the rim side and the outer contour of the toilet seat, the slight vertical gap between the upper surface of the rim and the lower surface of the toilet seat includes the rotation axis of the swing arm. Since only the supporting portion to be supported needs to be extended, it is possible to prevent the toilet seat from interfering with the support, and it is possible to prevent the swing arm from being damaged. Further, since the size of the motor is not restricted, the size of the motor can be increased. In the embodiment in which the washing nozzle is provided in the storage portion of the support, the urine collection container is washed after use, so that the urine collection container can be kept clean. In the embodiment in which the display portion is provided on the upper surface of the support outside the toilet seat, the subject can view the urine analysis result in a comfortable posture.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state where a urine collecting apparatus of the present invention is attached to a toilet bowl.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the urine collection container shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the syringe pump shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the syringe pump shown in FIG. 5;

[Explanation of symbols]

 10: Urine collection device 16: Toilet rim 18: Support 20: Support of support 22: Urine collection container storage of support 28: Urine collection container 30: Swing arm 32: Rotation axis of swing arm 60: Motor (drive) Means) 66: cleaning means

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing from the front page (72) Toshio Oguro, Inventor 2-1-1 Nakajima, Kokurakita-ku, Kitakyushu-shi, Fukuoka Prefecture Totoki Equipment Co., Ltd. (72) Hiroyuki Tsuboi 2, Nakajima, Kokurakita-ku, Kitakyushu-shi, Fukuoka No.1-1, Totoki Kiki Co., Ltd.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A urine collecting apparatus for collecting urine excreted in a urinal for urine analysis, comprising: a support extending in a transverse direction above a side of a rim and mounted on an upper surface of the rim; A urine collection container storage part close to the inside of the front part of the rim, the support being detachably attachable to a rim of a toilet bowl, and the support being swingable about a rotation axis extending inside the support part. A swinging arm supported by the swinging arm; a urine collection container carried at a free end of the swinging arm; and a rocking arm for moving the urine collection container between a rest position in the storage portion and a urine collection position in the bowl space. A rim-mounted urine collection device, comprising: a driving means for swinging the moving arm. 2. A urine collecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said driving means comprises a motor, and said motor is arranged outside an outer contour of a side portion of a rim. 3. The urine collection device according to claim 2, wherein the motor is disposed outside the outer contour of the toilet seat in plan view. 4. A urine collecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said storing section is provided with a washing means for washing the urine collecting container at a rest position. 5. A urine collecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a display is provided on an upper surface of said support outside said toilet seat.